


Home

by NoiseyLobster



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:00:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26959957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoiseyLobster/pseuds/NoiseyLobster
Summary: "What are you doing out here Ruby?"Ruby and Weiss finally talk after the battle of Haven.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 8
Kudos: 139





	1. Weiss

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in the longest time, but this has been bouncing around in my head for days. I hope it's decent.
> 
> RWBY is the sole property of Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. I don't own any of this.

"What are you doing out here Ruby?"

Weiss knew she shouldn't be outside right now. It was far too cold and far too late. The harsh bite of the winter wind cut mercilessly through her nightgown and, despite the desperate boost Jaune's semblance had given her, she was still only a day removed from having almost bleed out on the steps of Haven Academy. Winters here might not hold a candle to the harsh climate of Atlas, but Weiss was barely strong enough to walk herself to the bathroom in her current state. She had no business being outside at this time of night. 

But Ruby was out here. Just a few feet away on the steps of the little house they'd retreated back to with the rest of their friends. 

Alone.

That bothered Weiss. Ruby wasn't meant to be alone.

Ruby startled at her question, head jerking away from the wooden pillar she had been slumped against, staring blankly out into the snow for Grimm knows how long. A forced smile fixed itself on her face as she turned to face her partner. A pang shot through Weiss’ heart at the sight. She had seen that smile far too many times since finding her way back to Haven.

Back to Ruby.

Not for the first time Weiss found herself missing Vale, missing...missing those days when Ruby's shoulders weren't so heavy, when her smile wasn't so forced, when they…

Weiss forced down the rising bile in her throat. It was still so hard to think about those days. They’d lost so much.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked hesitantly. 

With a shameful jolt, Weiss realized she hadn't even been listening to whatever Ruby had said in response to her question. She had to do better than this. 

"Are you ok Weiss? You really shouldn't be out here right now. Is something wrong?"

Ruby was starting to babble. Weiss should say something, force her to stop. Force her to focus on herself for once. 

"It's not your side is it?'' There was an undercurrent of panic to Ruby's voice now. Words still choking themselves silent in the back of her throat, Weiss shook her head weakly, giving Ruby a shaky smile that took more will to summon than she'd ever admit to the taller girl. It did little to dispel the worry from Ruby's eyes however. 

"We should get you back inside. I can get you something to drink if you can't sleep. Food always works for me, so maybe some hot chocolate or something?" 

Ruby had always been like this when she was nervous or scared. There was a time, it seemed like so long ago, that Weiss considered it a character flaw. She'd been wrong about so many things about Ruby back then. 

"Or milk? Yang always liked to drink warm milk when we were kids though I don't really get why. It's supposed to help though! I’m sure there’s some inside."

Weiss hadn't been blind to how close her partner had clung to her during the long walk back from the battlefield. Weiss had been grateful at the time. Truthfully, she didn't think she'd have been able to make it back without Ruby's shoulder to lean on. But they were back now. Safe, or as safe as they had been in months, and it was far time that Ruby had someone to lean on instead.

Not that she was doing a great job of that so far. Weiss envied Yang sometimes. In her weaker moments, the nights where the voices in the back of Weiss' head whispering about her endless insecurities won out over her Schnee pride, she could admit as much. Yang had a presence to her that even Jacques Schnee would have admired. 

If he could have ever looked past Yang's last name of course, Weiss thought bitterly.

It wasn't that Weiss was hopeless in a social setting. She'd enjoyed the benefit of some of the finest tutors and mentors money could buy in Atlas. Twice over. If push came to shove, Weiss knew how to dazzle a prospective client, navigate a contentious dinner party, and soothe a ruffled guest's ego without them even realizing they were prey for some corporate game or another. But none of that was really her. It was the Schnee name, the snowflake on her back that people admired. Or feared. People respected Yang, loved her, admired her because of who she was. Weiss had never been able to come close to such a feat. 

Until RWBY.

"Weiss?" Ruby's voice was practically a whisper now. 

When had she gotten so close? Weiss could see her reflection in gun-metal gray eyes, so full of worry and something else so much softer that it made Weiss swallow hard, her throat suddenly incredibly dry. Ruby looked cold, the flush in her cheeks betraying the faint traces of blue along her lips and the edge of her fingers. 

Impulsively Weiss reached out, her hands enveloping Ruby's own. She shuddered at just how cold Ruby was, rubbing her thumbs in small circles over the back of Ruby's hands, trying to work some heat into the stiff joints. 

Ruby was quiet now, staring into Weiss' eyes with an intensity that made her legs weak. They'd have to talk about this eventually Weiss realized, not for the first time. This thing between them that made the air so thick some days that Weiss could barely fill her lungs with it. If Beacon hadn't…

You can say the words Weiss. Just say them.

If Beacon hadn't…

Damn it. Hot tears sprang to her eyes at the memories and concern washed over Ruby's face in an instant. Weiss cursed herself for her weakness. This wasn't supposed to be about her. Why was she never strong enough to just help Ruby? 

Ruby stepped forward, a hand already outstretched to wipe away a tear that had fallen down her cheek, trailing down against the outline of her scar. 

Why did it always turn into Ruby having to save her?

"No!" Even Weiss was startled by the intensity of her words. Ruby may well have been burned for how quickly her hand snapped away, now fidgeting guilty at her side. Weiss swallowed. This was already so far from what she had been trying to do and now she'd gone and hurt Ruby. Again. She had to do better. Ruby needed this. Ruby deserved better than this from her partner. 

"Why are you out here Ruby?" she whispered, trying again.

Ruby seemed to shrink into herself at the question. A nervous hand worked its way up to the back of Ruby's neck before falling limply back to her side. Behind her the snow had begun to pile up around the house, almost threatening to close in on them. It felt oppressive. They didn't belong here in Haven. Ruby belonged somewhere better, someplace warm.

And Weiss? She'd learned long ago she belonged wherever Ruby was. 

"I don't know really," Ruby admitted softly. "I couldn't sleep and I guess I thought that this would help me figure things out." 

She gestured weakly out to the snow piling up in the front yard of the house. Weiss felt her eyes follow, unbidden. A small snowflake had landed on Ruby's outstretched hand, falling to the ground to join so many others as the limb flopped weakly back to her partner's side. Weiss could feel the Schnee snowflake burning against her back through her nightgown.

Some days Weiss worried she'd never be able to escape it. No matter how far she'd come since her first day...back there, there were days where the whispers of her father and mother in her ears felt less like whispers and more like her own thoughts mocking her. Days she sometimes felt forced to be alone just to render powerless that awful voice in her head that told her nothing but every possible way to tear down the people she loved the most.

Ruby looked so small and alone out there in the snow though. Weiss had to do better. 

"I missed you." 

The words had been nothing like what Weiss had meant to say, but as soon as they escaped she knew they were the right ones. Ruby's head snapped up to her, her eyes shimmering, and Weiss finally knew what to do. She closed the meager distance between them and wrapped the taller girl up in her arms, repressing a shudder at how cold Ruby felt against her. 

Just how long had she been out here?

"I missed you so much Ruby," she whispered against Ruby's ear, wishing she had some way to show just how grateful, how stupidly grateful she was to be back with her.

Whatever Weiss had been planning on saying next froze on her tongue as she felt Ruby collapse into her arms, her shoulders already beginning to quake with the start of a sob. Trying not to let it show just how hard it was to hold the two of them up in her current state, Weiss clung tighter to Ruby, rubbing small circles along her back. Her other hand found its way into Ruby's hair, fingers rubbing soothingly through the red-tipped strands.

"It's ok Ruby," she muttered, her cheek pressed against the side of Ruby's head as Ruby smothered sobs against Weiss' shoulder. "I'm here. It's ok."

Taking a deep shuddering breath, Ruby tried to break away. Which was completely unacceptable. Something that Weiss made perfectly clear by stiffening her arms around her partner. Ruby could break away easily if she wanted to. In her current state even someone like Klein was more than a match for Weiss physically. But that wasn’t the point.

Weiss smiled sadly as she felt Ruby's arms finally wrap around her back, tightening almost painfully as Ruby pulled her flush against her own body. For the first time in so, so long Weiss felt a knot loosen in her stomach. 

"Why are you out here Ruby?" she asked again, nails scratching lightly against Ruby's scalp in the same way Weiss' mother used to do for her while she was still too young to appreciate how much she ought to treasure the rare show of affection. 

Ruby leaned her head back, bloodshot silver eyes staring into her own, making Weiss swallow down all matter of stupid impulses screaming at her ways to wipe those tears away.

"I can't lose you Weiss," Ruby choked out as Weiss felt her heart drop into her stomach. "I can't lose you too."

"Ruby-"

"No!" That underlying edge of hysteria was back. 

"You were-” Ruby’s voice cracked. “Grimm Weiss you were so pale. And I wasn't there! I let them hit me and I wasn't there and you...if Jaune hadn't been there you would have-" Ruby buried her face back against Weiss' shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

Weiss held her for a long time after that, hands wrapped around Ruby's back like a vice, long after her legs had gone numb from a lack of aura and the cold. Eventually when Ruby's cries quieted enough that Weiss was confident her partner might have a chance of hearing her, Weiss tucked her finger under Ruby's chin, leaning her head back so that she could press their foreheads together. 

"Do you remember what I told you back at Beacon?"

Grimm it hurt to force that last word out. But Ruby needed this. Ruby was worth this. 

Ruby was worth anything.

Ruby stared back at her, her eyes unsure. Weiss, her heart breaking for the countless time that night, watched as Ruby forced that damn fake smile back onto her lips, clearly feeling guilty for coming apart in front of her partner. 

"That I was a dolt?"

A laugh forced its way out despite Weiss and the genuine smile that broke out across Ruby's face at the sound made it all worth it.

"Well yes but besides that," Weiss smiled fondly, a finger wiping away an errant tear as it dripped down against Ruby's cheek. "I told you I'd be the best partner you ever had." 

Weiss watched Ruby swallow hard at the memory, fresh tears threatening to fall in her eyes. 

"I can hardly do that if anything happens to me. I'm not going anywhere Ruby."

Not without you.

"But you..."

"But nothing. We got home safe didn't we?"

The word home felt odd on her tongue, but looking at Ruby, thinking of every place she'd been to without the excitable dolt of a huntress, thinking of how cold and empty those months had been, she realized how true the words were. She was home.

Ruby was home.

"I missed you too much to ever leave you again Ruby," she whispered, the words misting in the cold air between them. 

If it was possible for Ruby to hold her any tighter than she had been, she was now. Unsuccessfully Weiss attempted to suppress a grimace at the new pressure against the wound on her side. The wince was slight, but when had anyone's pain ever escaped Ruby.

It seemed to dawn on Ruby then just how cold it was outside and just how unwise it probably was to be standing out here in it, much less with a hole the size of her fist newly scarred over against Weiss’ back. 

"You need to get back inside Weiss," Ruby spoke, every word just dripping with concern.

"Come with me?" Weiss watched Ruby hesitate for just a second, before swallowing her pride to add, "I don't really think I can make it up the stairs by myself to be honest."

Any uncertainty vanished from Ruby's eyes at that and before Weiss realized what was happening she found herself scooped up into Ruby's arms and halfway to the front door. Sighing in resignation, Weiss decided just once that she would let herself enjoy this, sinking into Ruby's arms as her partner maneuvered the door open with her foot. 

She had never been so glad to be home.


	2. Ruby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so my one-shot became a two-shot. I figured it would be fun to do a bit of writing from Ruby's perspective. Hope you enjoy.

Shoving the front door closed with her foot while taking extra care not to jostle Weiss, Ruby stifled a wince as the sound echoed through the stillness of the house. Hopefully she hadn’t just woken Blake up. She, along with everyone else, had retreated to bed long ago, obviously still exhausted from the fight the day before.

Exhausted in more ways than one, Ruby reflected glumly. She needed to check in soon with Jaune. They still hadn’t had the right moment to talk about what had been said at Haven Academy. Even the memories of it hurt.

_Raw pain dripping from Jaune’s voice as he begged Cinder for answers that would never come._

Maybe Ren would be a better person to talk to Jaune about it. Ruby didn’t know where to begin unpacking it all. There was too much left unsaid in that outburst, too many landmines, too many ghosts. 

_“If I die buying them time, then it's worth it. They're the ones that matter.”_

Guilt hummed low in the back of Ruby’s throat as she fought the sudden urge to cry. She couldn’t just leave Jaune to deal with it all himself. Not again. 

_Pyrrha’s voice, encouraging and soft, echoing from the screen, looping over and over in the dark._

The stairs to the second story loomed in front of Ruby, twisting in and out from the shadows, shifting into one grotesque shape after another. She could see the outline of claws everywhere, each ready to reach out and tear. Had this room always been so small? Crescent Rose, freshly oiled and tucked safely against the headrest of Ruby’s bed, suddenly felt so far away. 

God she missed Pyrrha.

And Penny.

They’d lost so-

“I can hear you thinking,” Weiss mumbled against Ruby’s chest, her voice layered with exhaustion. 

Ruby glanced down surprised. The white haired girl had been so still that she’d thought Weiss had already fallen asleep. Sure enough though, warm blue eyes were staring up at her intently, even through the fog of fatigue. 

Grimm it was hard to think when Weiss was looking at her like that.

Focus Ruby. One foot in front of the other. Or above the other in this case? Stairs made that saying difficult. 

“I wasn’t-” Ruby trailed off as blue eyes narrowed at her. 

“Ruby,” Weiss sighed. “Don’t lie. You’re no good at it anyway.”

Ruby’s heart clutched at how tired she sounded. They’d all been through so much, especially Weiss.

Truthfully, Ruby understood what Jaune had meant. More than she ever wanted to admit. Looking down at the white-haired girl in her arms, Weiss' head tucked back into the crook of Ruby’s arm as she carried her, she had to fight down another wave of nausea at the thought of what she would do if anything happened to Weiss.

Again. 

Squeezing her eyes shut, images of yesterday flashed through Ruby’s mind, threatening to break her barely held together composure right in half. She swallowed and forced them down. 

Weiss was here. Weiss was safe. Careful to avoid putting any pressure on the freshly healed scar on her partner’s side, Ruby pressed Weiss closer against her chest, letting her thoughts, scattered and stretched far too thin, settle into the safety of Weiss’ heartbeat as it echoed against her chest. Weiss was safe. Far too cold, but safe. And at least Ruby could fix the cold.

The list of things Ruby could fix seemed to dwindle smaller and smaller every day.

She and Ren could keep an eye on Jaune together. Ruby didn’t know how to help, but she and Ren could at least make sure Jaune knew he was loved until he was ready to talk. Nora too, but Nora had her own way of looking after people and it wasn’t exactly a way that Ruby could plan around. Nothing about Nora made planning terribly easy, as much as Ruby loved her for it. 

Blake and Yang too. She’d tried to give them both some space after Team RWBY’s reunion and it probably wasn’t time to get too involved in poking those still open wounds, but Yang had been so quiet since yesterday. Yang was never quiet. 

And Blake...she wasn’t sure how to help Blake right now honestly. 

Weiss made a small sound in the back of her throat and then grimaced, startling Ruby. Eyes snapping down, she found her partner smiling up at her apologetically. 

“Sorry. Yawning still doesn’t feel the best.”

Weiss was saying something else now, but raw, sharp worry drove the sound away. Weiss was hurt. Hurt and tired and cold after spending half her night comforting Ruby when she should have been sleeping. That came first. Get Weiss to bed and then she could deal with…everything else.

“Ruby.” 

Uh oh. Ruby knew that tone. That was the “I don’t like being ignored” tone. Much worse than the “Ruby you’re being a dolt” tone that had become almost an endearment over the months at Beacon.

“Almost there Weiss,” Ruby whispered, forcing a smile she hoped was reassuring. “Sorry I’m just tired. Need a good night’s sleep and I’ll be good as new.”

Weiss frowned, grumbling something against Ruby’s chest, before sighing loudly. Ruby smiled in gratitude when she chose not to force the issue. Not that a bit of prickle from her partner would have been the worst thing in the world. Grumpy Weiss she could deal with. Grumpy Weiss was animated and lively and not at all pale like...nope. 

One foot in front of the other Ruby. 

One last turn and they were heading down the hall to where Weiss’ door was. The safe house was more than big enough for them to all have their own rooms. Ruby figured Weiss would appreciate the personal space, even if it made her heart hurt to wish her, Yang and Blake goodnight. It felt too much like saying goodbye.

She missed Beacon so much some days it hurt. 

Ruby breathed in and out, trying to keep the telltale hitch out of each exhale. 

You can do this. Weiss needs you to be able to do this. 

Careful not to jostle her partner too much, Ruby maneuvered the bedroom door open with a degree of finesse that she was actually rather proud of. Extra training with Crescent Rose every evening was theoretically the best possible medicine for her natural clumsiness. And it was...in battle at least. The rest of the time Ruby was glad just to make it to breakfast without tripping. 

Pancakes were a wonderful motivator. 

“Weiss?” she whispered. It didn’t sound like Weiss was asleep, but Ruby didn’t want to risk waking her if the older girl was on the verge of it. Weiss needed every moment of rest she could get after what she’d been through. 

She felt Weiss smile against her shoulder and chills ran their way up and down Ruby’s spine at the feel of Weiss’ lips through her pajamas. For the first time it registered just how little clothing Weiss’ nightgown really entailed. Ruby’s fingers suddenly burned where they gripped against her partner’s legs and she began trying to think of anything and everything other than the fact that she was holding a half-dressed Weiss in her arms. Alone.

In Weiss’ bedroom. 

The sound of Weiss clearing her throat made it clear Ruby’s attempts to distract herself may have bordered on too effective because whatever her partner had been trying to say to her had clearly been lost to deaf ears. 

“Heh sorry Weiss. Guess I’m kinda out of it tonight.”

Weiss stared up at Ruby for a moment, those beautiful blue eyes making Ruby’s throat run dry with some unspoken thing that Ruby knew she’d be able to drown in happily if she ever waded in too far. 

“I had been saying thank you Ruby, but that as much as I admire the chivalry, I think I can take it from here.”

“Oh right. Yeah! Putting you down now!” Ruby knew she was babbling. Worse Ruby knew that Weiss knew that she was babbling. “Good thing too cause I sure am tired.”

Seeing blue eyes narrow, Ruby felt her thoughts crash into each other in a panic. 

“Not that you’re too heavy! At all. If anything you’re too skinny. But not in a bad way! In a you should eat more kind of way! Which is different and-”

Ruby froze as a finger pressed itself against her lips. Weiss’ skin was so soft. Could all of her be that soft?

No. Bad Ruby. Think of something other than how soft your partner's skin is. Especially when you’re still holding her for God knows how long after she asked you to put her down. Just put her down, say goodnight, and then take a nice long shower - or five - until your brain restarts itself. 

It was a great plan. A great plan that swiftly caught fire and exploded the second Weiss pulled her finger away, the feel of her skin grazing across Ruby’s lips quickly paralyzing any brain cell that wasn’t currently being devoted to breathing and not dropping her partner. 

Weiss was laughing at her now, little crinkles forming at the corners of her eyes, as she tried in vain to cover her giggles with her palm. The sound seemed to jumpstart Ruby’s brain enough to finally - carefully - set her partner down, hands still hovering at Weiss' shoulders to steady her. 

God she’d missed her.

Weiss was giving her that look again now, her smile soft and caring. How anyone could call Weiss cold was a mystery to Ruby. Except Yang of course because Yang didn’t really mean it. At this point Ice Queen was more a term of endearment than anything else when coming from her sister. And as for everyone else? Ruby felt sorry for them. They got to live their whole lives without ever realizing that underneath all the burdens and disappointments that came with being a Schnee, there was a girl that could look at Ruby and smile like that.

Delicate fingers encircled Ruby’s own and not for the first time Ruby wondered how Weiss could hide so much strength in a body that small and fragile looking. Maybe a bit too fragile looking. Ruby really did need to make sure that Weiss ate more.

“Come on dolt. It’s late.” Weiss said, tugging Ruby in the direction of her bed. “I hope you’ve already brushed your teeth.”

So much for those last few brain cells. 

“Um Weiss my bed’s kinda that way,” Ruby stammered out, proceeding to point in entirely the wrong direction. 

Weiss rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. The effect would have been better if she wasn’t still smiling. 

“First of all, Ruby, your bed is downstairs not wherever it is that you’re pointing. You can hardly expect me to leave you to your own devices if you can’t even get that much right.”

Ruby opened her mouth to protest. Protest what exactly she wasn’t entirely sure, but she’d figure that out along the way. At the rate Weiss was going, she was clearly going to kill her and that certainly felt protest worthy. 

The words died in Ruby’s throat as Weiss’ thumb started to draw little circles on the back of her palm.

“Secondly,” Weiss’ voice was quieter now, her eyes downcast nervously on the floor between them as she gripped Ruby’s hand a bit tighter. God was it always this hard to breathe? 

“I’d feel better if I knew you were nearby tonight.”

Whether that was for Ruby’s benefit or her own, Weiss didn’t say. Somehow Ruby understood that the answer lay somewhere in between. 

“Ok,” Ruby breathed.

She let Weiss pull her over to the modest bed in the far corner of the room as Ruby became increasingly aware that she hadn’t washed her hair that morning. 

Ruby barely registered lying down. Honestly focusing on much beyond the feel of Weiss’ hand in her own had become a losing battle. 

The world retreated into little things. The feel of clean sheets wrapping around her, how soft Weiss’ hair felt against Ruby’s chin as her partner wrapped her arms around her, head nestled into the crook of her neck. The sound of Weiss’ heartbeat, steady and strong, in the dark. 

“It’s ok Ruby,” Weiss whispered, the vibrations of her voice against Ruby’s shoulder setting nerve endings on fire. “Sleep.”

The air felt warm, thick with the smell of snowdrops and Weiss’ shampoo. Weiss’ voice, whispering reassuring nothings into the dark room, wafted around her as Ruby’s eyes grew impossibly heavy. The edges of her consciousness blurring with exhaustion, Ruby wrapped her arms back around her partner, thanking every god in every fairytale Yang had ever read to her for letting Ruby run into Weiss in the forest that day.

There was so much to do tomorrow, but right then, as long nails drew quiet patterns against the back of Ruby’s pajamas and Weiss’ murmurs pooled in the air between them, everything else felt a lifetime away. 

For the first time since she learned that there were things in the world so much worse than Grimm, Ruby slept quietly.


End file.
